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Google to Offer a Best Price Guarantee on Certain Flights

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Re: Google to Offer a Best Price Guarantee on Certain Flights

#131

Post by igrekel »

sokoloff wrote: post #121
sauwan wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wouldn't it have to be a price drop for google to be out any money? It's a low price guarantee, so price spikes would only make them look good. Airlines aren't going to randomly drop prices to spite google...

It would cost them almost nothing to drop the price of their remaining economy seats 33 minutes before departure on a few select flights where Google sold many tickets.

That would be such a rookie mistake. Airlines don't do that, because 1) it creates bad habits with passengers 2) that's when the ticket has the highest value for customer who need to travel NOW 3) if they have remaining economy seats, a price drop 33 minutes before departure has little effect in stimulating demand for most destinations.

Re: Google to Offer a Best Price Guarantee on Certain Flights

#132

Post by jeroenhd »

snovv_crash wrote: post #40
mediumdeviation wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah yes, same as my new Pixel. Apparently to be able to give me temperature in Celsius instead of Fahrenheit, Google would like to know every app activity and usage as well as everywhere I have been. This sort of privacy bundling really should not be allowed.

That sounds like a GDPR violation.

Agreed. Requiring consent for such a basic feeling feels like data extortion to me, there's stuff about that in various GDPR implementations.

Re: Google to Offer a Best Price Guarantee on Certain Flights

#133

Post by jonknee »

namdnay wrote: post #73
ghobs91 wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A) Why would they be in an adversarial relationship with Google? B) What benefit do they get from doing something like this?

The airlines are in a very adversarial relationship with Google. They're scared that google will take away their direct distribution channel by being better than they are.

So adversarial they spend tons of money on advertising and pay Google to use ITA's software to sell tickets to their own customers.

Re: Google to Offer a Best Price Guarantee on Certain Flights

#134

Post by jonknee »

robert_foss wrote: post #53
ww520 wrote: post #51

I would never book flight or hotel through 3rd party portal unless there's a substantial discount. Booking direct work better 90% of the time.

I feel like that is a recipe for getting price gouged. Or do you search for trips with 3rd party tools and then book it directly?

Google owns ITA software which many airlines themselves for ticketing, as such they know more than the airline itself does about what's a good deal.

Re: Google to Offer a Best Price Guarantee on Certain Flights

#135

Post by bob_theslob646 »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #130
primitivesuave wrote: post #6

Once their algorithm can predict prices to a certain level of accuracy, they can effectively offer investment hedging to the public for free, and use the publicity to drive commissions on referrals. Unlike other commodities whose value is subject to numerous economic forces, the pricing is set directly (by the airlines), and it is likely that simply by observing their pricing over time a sophisticated Google algorith…

> it is likely that simply by observing their pricing over time a sophisticated Google algorithm has "learned" the airline's less sophisticated ones Simple systems acting in concert are devilishly complex. (Former algorithmic trader.) Counterparties' systems fail. They misfire. They get confused by the weather and interns punching in parameters wrong. Internal dynamics, like someone stretching to hit a goal or gettin…

I am so lost as to what you are trying to say. What is your point?

Google does have a tremendous advantage if it controls the _flow_( sending traffic/customers to airlines) versus the airline's having control of the book.

Re: Google to Offer a Best Price Guarantee on Certain Flights

#136

Post by sokoloff »

igrekel wrote: post #131
sokoloff wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It would cost them almost nothing to drop the price of their remaining economy seats 33 minutes before departure on a few select flights where Google sold many tickets.

That would be such a rookie mistake. Airlines don't do that, because 1) it creates bad habits with passengers 2) that's when the ticket has the highest value for customer who need to travel NOW 3) if they have remaining economy seats, a price drop 33 minutes before departure has little effect in stimulating demand for most destinations.

How many people are in a position to make a purchase decision, buy a ticket, and make the flight when the price drops 33 minutes before departure (13 minutes before boarding ends)?

In June, I was literally in CVG airport (inside of security) when my Delta flight was delayed. I decided not to book a ticket on United that was leaving in ~35 minutes because I wasn't sure that I could get over to the other terminal before boarding closed. (It also wasn't 100% clear that the United flight was going to make the connection in DC because of weather that was also screwing up Delta.)

Re: Google to Offer a Best Price Guarantee on Certain Flights

#137

Post by marcinzm »

scotradamus wrote: post #86
londons_explore wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not quite what this is. The 'best price guarantee' guarantees the customer will receive the lowest price for their ticket. Google will refund them if anyone gets a lower price. The airline can release, for 30 seconds only, a much lower price. Then Google has to refund all their customers, and the airline might only sell a handful of tickets at the lower price. Remember airline tickets aren't fungible. They hav…

Then google would buy all those tickets at the reduced value and resell them at the normal price.

Tickets are generally non-transferable and cheap ones are non-refundable. So unless google can predict the name of the future buyer it’ll be out of luck.

Re: Google to Offer a Best Price Guarantee on Certain Flights

#138

Post by JumpCrisscross »

bob_theslob646 wrote: post #135
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> it is likely that simply by observing their pricing over time a sophisticated Google algorithm has "learned" the airline's less sophisticated ones Simple systems acting in concert are devilishly complex. (Former algorithmic trader.) Counterparties' systems fail. They misfire. They get confused by the weather and interns punching in parameters wrong. Internal dynamics, like someone stretching to hit a goal or gettin…

I am so lost as to what you are trying to say. What is your point? Google does have a tremendous advantage if it controls the _flow_( sending traffic/customers to airlines) versus the airline's having control of the book.

> What is your point?

It's not a simple problem. It's unlikely Google has it remotely solved.

> Google does have a tremendous advantage if it controls the _flow_( sending traffic/customers to airlines) versus the airline's having control of the book

Google is one of many online travel agents for airlines. It doesn't control the flow.

"Controlling the book" means airlines know who has booked how many tickets and at what price. They control how many tickets are left. They control whether and when a flight flies. They control prices.

Reselling tickets is a distribution problem. Guaranteeing prices is a trading problem. Google has a pitch with the former. It holds few cards with the latter. The only stick it holds to dissuade aggressive behavior from airlines is cutting them off from its distribution.

Re: Google to Offer a Best Price Guarantee on Certain Flights

#139

Post by namdnay »

jonknee wrote: post #133
namdnay wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The airlines are in a very adversarial relationship with Google. They're scared that google will take away their direct distribution channel by being better than they are.

So adversarial they spend tons of money on advertising and pay Google to use ITA's software to sell tickets to their own customers.

They dont have a choice about advertising. If they don’t advertise, users will see an ota or metasearch link and click on that instead. Then the airline pays a GDS commission and makes less money

Re: Google to Offer a Best Price Guarantee on Certain Flights

#140

Post by micael_dias »

privateSFacct wrote: post #22
acomjean wrote: post #4

Google putting the finishing touches om the ITA software acquisition. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITA_Software But oddly closed google trips, which frankly was decent. Google sometimes seems like incoherent.

I liked google trips and finance, light weight to the point. Not sure what happened to either of them, maybe just less discoverable these days.

Google trips shutdown on the 5th of August
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